Three years after completing the purchase of undeveloped property on the opposite corner of Route 1 from the town hall and agreeing to some sort of open-space or park use, Bethany Beach officials may finally be ready to start making some concrete decisions on how the property will someday look and operate.
The town council on Aug. 15 unanimously approved up to $7,000 from town coffers to be spent on creating a basic design concept for the former Christian Church and Neff properties that would be aimed at allowing the town to begin moving forward on work to bring that vision to fruition — gradually, and with town employees as the core of the work force.
Council Member Tracy Mulligan introduced the resolution, saying that a vote now would allow the town to begin with low-scale work on the park, such as filling in some low-lying areas as needed for the final design of the park.
Town Manager Cliff Graviet said town staff have already been conducting maintenance and clean-up on the property, such as clearing unruly underbrush and fallen limbs. He said the most recent estimate that had been received for creation of a park design had been $5,000, back when the property had been freshly purchased.
Mulligan’s recommendation of $7,000 in funding now was aimed at ensuring increases in design cost and initial maintenance costs would be covered.
“The work would be done gradually, with town staff, to enhance the property and to eventually realize the design concept,” Graviet said, noting that a full design concept for the park is needed now due to the re-designation of former federally protected “404” wetlands on the property as uplands, which has substantially increased how much of the property is usable.
“We can’t keep continuing to put this kind of project off,” Mulligan said in recommending immediate approval of the funding.
Vice-Mayor Tony McClenny, while acknowledging that the town does have too many projects that have been sitting in a queue for potential future funding and implementation, said he didn’t feel the time was quite right for the council to approve funding for the park project.
“I’d like the next town council to look at this,” McClenny said, referencing the upcoming Sept. 6 elections in which four seats are up for grabs. Seven candidates have filed to run for the seats, including three of the four incumbents. The four non-incumbents running, however, mean the town council could undergo a major shift — something McClenny said he was wary of in immediately approving funding for the park project and in general.
“We have the potential here of replacing four council members. That’s dangerous in and of itself,” he said, recommending the next council look at a move to three-year terms that would reduce the number of council seats up for re-election in each year, as well as looking at the issue of the park project.
“There are projects on our plate that I think should come sooner than that project,” McClenny added, pointing to the planned Streetscape, and pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects.
Mayor Carol Olmstead said she agreed that the time was not right for moving ahead on the park project, and Council Member Jerry Dorfman said he also opposed moving ahead at this time.
However, Graviet said he felt the often-delayed Streetscape project itself was an example of a project that had benefited from having a design concept prepared. He said the status quo only allowed for him to place the park on a list of town council priorities, where it could potentially remain indefinitely, not acted upon, being shifted up and down without forward progress.
Council Member J. Robert “Bob” Parsons stood firmly in favor of giving the go-ahead on the park project this month.
“We have assets here to spend that would be spent anyway,” he said, referencing to the work by town employees in doing maintenance on the property that could subsequently continue with the eventual park design concept in mind.
“Spending $7,000 seems reasonable,” put in Council Member Steve Wode.
Planning Commissioner Kathleen Mink said she also felt the town stood a better chance of obtaining grants to fund the park project if a design concept was in place.
A recommendation to table the issue for discussion by the next council was defeated in a 3-4 vote, with McClenny, Olmstead and Dorfman in favor.
The council then voted on approving the $7,000 limit for the development of a design concept that is consistent with the prior council’s approval of a park concept for the property, as well as to direct Graviet to work on obtaining the concept under that funding. It was approved on a unanimous vote.
Also on Aug. 15:
• The council gave unanimous approval to officially support Senate Bill 134, sponsored by state Sen. George Howard Bunting this past legislative session but withdrawn due to a lack of support. Bunting is planning to introduce the bill again in January. The bill would permit a referendum within the proposed area of service of the Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company’s ambulance service on whether to assess a special tax on properties in that area that would then go to fund the service. Sussex County would administer the tax, if the referendum was approved.
Currently, the BBVFC has an agreement with three municipalities and a homeowners association to assess annual fees to pay for the service. But those properties make up only about 70 percent of the service area. If the referendum is passed, those fees would be eliminated in favor of the county-collected tax for the entire service area.
• Council members unanimously approved a revised version of an ordinance limiting the storage of boats on properties within the town. The new version of the ordinance prohibits the parking or storage within town limits of any boat larger than 8.5 feet by 30 feet that is also taller than 15 feet. Provisions for a system that would have permitted limited storage of such vessels in a permit system were stricken before its second and final reading.
• The council also unanimously approved a revision to ordinances regarding the town manager’s responsibilities and duties. The new ordinance increases the limit for contracts not requiring approval of the entire council, from $10,000 to $25,000. Contracts for $10,000 to $25,000 would require the approval of the town’s mayor or the council treasurer but not the full council. The revision also cements the town manager as reporting to the town council and the mayor as the town’s primary contact person for governmental issues.
• A change in the town code regarding requirements for subdivisions and planned residential developments (PRDs) was also unanimously approved. The new sections of code provide more extensive requirements and a list of recommended and preferred elements in such communities within the town, modeled on the town’s architectural design guidelines for its downtown commercial district.
• The council also unanimously approved changes to the code related to those commercial architecture guidelines, expanding the guidelines and the related committee to pertain not just to commercial structures but to all non-residential structures, to include churches and government buildings, among others. The changes also dealt with some minor issues discovered in the first months of operation of that committee.
• Council members unanimously approved some updates to the council’s protocol manual, including requiring that council members sponsoring an item on a council agenda be responsible for providing briefing materials to the council and for the public, and providing a more expansive one-page format for a summary of agenda items.
The council opted not to make changes to the existing system of responding to e-mails from citizens. Those e-mails are currently catalogued by town staff and forwarded to council members, who can respond individually if they wish. The council also voted to make no changes to the existing council ethics policy, particularly as relates to membership in outside groups and potential conflicts of interest. Mulligan said he felt the existing policy was working well and the council agreed.
• The council unanimously approved asking the new town council this fall to look at the funding process for town projects, particularly in regard to a five-year capital plan and how the Budget & Finance Committee considers funding for projects not yet approved by the council.
• Council members reached a consensus to also use the existing process for appointing a town council member to fill a vacant council seat after an election, in the event that there are not enough candidates to fill all available seats at the time of an election.
• The council tabled discussion of a proposed “memorial wall” at the town hall that would recognize past town council members. The project is estimated to cost $20,000.
• Dorfman reported that the town had received some 55.7 percent of its budgeted revenue for the fiscal year beginning April 1, compared to 56.1 percent in 2007. The town had spent 34.1 percent of its budgeted expenditures, compared to 34.8 percent in 2007. Town revenue continues to exceed its expenditures.
Dorfman also reported on behalf of the Budget & Finance Committee that their review of the 2008 fiscal year had indicated the town’s revenue had been up 5 percent from 2007, with parking and transfer tax revenues above budgeted figures. The committee also recommended recently that the town consider potential increases in its shuttle-bus fee for outside communities, citing a $8,000 annual fee for those buses that is being charged in Fenwick Island, while the town charges just $3,000 per year.